Quiz: Howstuffworks

Do You Know The Names Of These Historical Men?

Mark Laugraben

Image: WikiCommons

About This Quiz

Great leaders never go out of style! Humankind marches on to the beat of different drums, but someone has to set the tune, someone has to ensure that everyone is marching in harmony. Even in rough and tumble, freedom-loving societies like the West, leaders are needed to keep the free people from each other's throats!

But politics is not the only sphere to which we ascribe greatness. Great artists rise and force us to reexamine the nature of our humanity, either via words written on pages or paint arranged on a canvas. Great thinkers force us to reconsider the presumptions upon which we build our worlds, tearing down our foundations to help construct something better. Their words, though rooted in the cultures from which they sprang, reach higher and farther to encompass the entire human story.

To these men of genius, we owe so much. Their labors grant purpose, give direction, and give us the tools we need to further expand the human story. We stand upon the shoulders of these giants and see further than our forebears could have possibly imagined.

How much do you know of the great men from history? Now is the time to prove your knowledge. Click to continue and forge ever onward!

wiki commons

Which important man is shown here?

Vladimir Lenin

Horatio Nelson

Vincent van Gogh

Genghis Khan

Admiral of the British Navy, Horatio Nelson was the naval thorn in mighty Napoleon's side. Though he met his end in battle at Trafalgar, the French-Spanish naval forces were annihilated, giving Britain full command of the seas.

WIKI COMMONS

Which historical person is this?

Francis Bacon

Mark Twain

Charles V

Constantine the Great

One of the most powerful rulers in history, Charles V ruled a massive Hapsburg empire that stretched across much of Europe. He fought Protestant rebels, Ottomans, the French, the Dutch, and many other forces at different times throughout his lengthy reign.

WikiCommons

Can you recognize this significant person?

Abraham Lincoln

Louis XIV

King Arthur

Andrew Jackson

The 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican President, and his election caused a southern reaction that led to states seceding from the Union. More followed, and he soon found himself commanding the Union in a Civil War.

Wiki Commons

Who is this famous man?

Isaac Newton

Mozart

Plato

Mahatma Gandhi

A symbol of non-violent civil disobedience, Gandhi's strategy of resistance saw the British withdraw and cede control of the most valuable piece of their empire. He is widely respected by accomplishing this without a horrible civil war.

Wiki Commons Public Domain

Which historical figure do you see here?

Socrates

Genghis Khan

Galileo Galilei

Donald Trump

Genghis Khan ruled the greatest land empire the world has ever known, encompassing much of Asia and reaching into the Middle East and Europe. His light cavalry armed with precise, powerful bows were essentially invincible against every foe upon which they came.

Wiki Commons

Can you recognize this person from history?

Thomas Edison

Charlemagne

Richard Wagner

Goethe

An incredible polymath, famous inventor Thomas Edison brought many innovations into the world. He created the electric light, the stock ticker, motion pictures, and recorded music. The world in which we live owes a great deal to Edison!

Wiki Commons

Guess who this famous man is!

James I of England

Richard Nixon

Charles IV

Martin Luther

The founder of the Protestant branch of Christianity, Martin Luther, was a monk and professor who nailed his disputes with the Catholic Church on the cathedral door in Wittenberg, triggering a religious conflagration that would sweep Europe.

Biography via youtube

Tell me who this significant person might be!

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Harry S. Truman

Lyndon B. Johnson

John F. Kennedy

JFK was the youngest man to be elected President of the United States, and the only Roman Catholic, so far, to serve as U.S. President. He vastly increased U.S. commitment in Vietnam, masterminded a failed invasion of Cuba, presided over the Cuban Missile Crisis and was assassinated in Dallas in 1963.

Pixabay

Can you identify this man?

Dante Alighieri

Martin Luther King Jr.

Vladimir Lenin

Booker T. Washington

Famed civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. played a critical role in organizing nonviolent resistance to the Jim Crow Laws that plagued the Southern USA and the KKK who defended them. He was assassinated, but his message and dreams live on.

Biography via youtube

Who is this historical individual?

Benjamin Franklin

Theodore Roosevelt

Ludwig Beethoven

Nikola Tesla

One of the most famous composers to have ever lived, Ludwig van Beethoven wrote nine symphonies, 32 sonatas for piano, and many other works. He spent much of his life in Vienna, which had become a fountainhead of the arts. His favorite work was his Fourteenth Quartet, op. 131 in C♯ minor, which he regarded as "perfect."

WikiCommons via Andrea di Pietro di Marco Ferrucci

Which man from history is shown here?

Thomas Jefferson

Alexander the Great

Julius Caesar

Adolf Hitler

A man of the people, Julius Caesar followed the example of the slain Gracchi brothers and used the general populace, combined with the Roman army, as the foundation of his power. After winning a dramatic Civil War, he seemingly declined the throne of king, but what he would have done next is unknown, as he was murdered by nobles, setting into motion the events that would lead to the rise of the Roman Empire.

wikimedia

Who is this famous fellow?

James Madison

Adam Smith

Leonardo da Vinci

Alexander Hamilton

A Scottish philosopher and by some measures the first economist, Adam Smith wrote multiple treatises on morality, but was most famous for his work, The Wealth of Nations, which provided the first thorough description of the system that was to become known as Capitalism.

WikiCommons

Can you identify this man?

Neil Armstrong

Adam Smith

Pope John Paul II

Winston Churchill

Brilliant, multi-talented astronaut Neil Armstrong will be forever immortalized by his being the first man to set foot on Earth's moon. It was truly "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

gnosisandlight via Youtube

Who is this?

John F. Kennedy

C.S. Lewis

George III of the United Kingdom

Cicero

Famed author of the Narnia stories and "Space trilogy," C.S. Lewis is also famous for writing a series of Christian Apologetics, including Mere Christianity and the Screwtape Letters. His works have been translated into several dozen languages, and continue to enthrall millions today.

Wiki Commons

Do you recognize who this is?

Cato the Elder

Hannibal Barca

Isaac Newton

Gottfried Leibnitz

One of the world's greatest geniuses and master of the science-focused Royal Society, Isaac Newton is best known for his co-discovery of calculus. His views of the laws of motion and gravitation were eventually disproven but were foundational to western science centuries after his death.

Wiki Commons

Name the man in the picture.

Charles Darwin

Vincent van Gogh

Ludwig van Beethoven

Christopher Columbus

The scientist responsible for the Theory of Evolution, Charles Darwin's discovery shook the world and forced it to reconsider ideas that were thought to be irrevocable. His work with Galapagos turtles and the finch species he discovered, seemingly so simple, would bring about mighty clashes between science and religion.

wiki commons

Can you guess who this is?

David, King of Israel

George Orwell

Paul the Apostle

J.R.R. Tolkien

Born Eric Blair, it is his pen name of George Orwell that is famous throughout the literary world. A Democratic Socialist who counted himself a foe to any and all authoritarianism, his works, including most notably Animal Farm and Nineteen and Eighty Four, are required reading for much of the West.

vinod kanchi via youtube

Who is shown here?

Abraham Lincoln

Charles Dickens

Steve Jobs

Bill Gates

When Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard to found a company out of a garage in 1975, no one would have expected that company, Microsoft, to rise to become one of the most titanic corporations ever seen. Today, he and his wife oversee the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, practicing smart, informed charity across the world to make it a better place.

Wiki Commons

And who might this man be?

William the Conqueror

John Lennon

Karl Marx

Oscar Wilde

One of the founding members of the Beatles, John Lennon is one of the most famous musical artists to ever live. His musical virtuosity introduced the world to pop, and then evolved beyond it, changing and growing with the times. He was slain by a fan in 1980, at the entrance to his apartment building in New York City.

Wiki Commons

Who is the famous man shown here?

Johann Sebastian Bach

Otto von Bismarck

Maximillian Robespierre

Winston Churchill

The British Bulldog himself, cigar-chomping Winston Churchill, was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War, during which he faced the country's darkest hour. Standing firm, even in the face of possible invasion and conquest, he masterminded a grand alliance with Soviet Russia and the United States that would see Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan defeated.

Jack Hollingsworth/Photodisc/Getty Images

Who is in this picture?

Joseph Stalin

Confucius

Voltaire

Hideaki Tojo

The man known as Confucius is responsible for creating a massive and far-ranging system of belief that grew to encompass all of China and much of Asia beyond. His morality, focused on filial piety and self improvement, still has enormous cultural influence today.

Shutterstock

Who is shown here?

John Locke

Ali, creator of the Sufi faith

Alexander the Great

Grover Cleveland

After his father, Philip, united Macedon, Alexander strode forth to conquer an empire greater than any his people had ever seen, stretching from Macedon to India. Educated by none other than Aristotle himself, the brilliant Alexander's conquests and new cities would have great consequences for the future of much of the then-civilized world.

WikiCommons

Who is this picture of?

Louis XVI of France

George W. Bush

George Washington

Elvis Presley

The first President of the United States, George Washington, led the nascent U.S. forces in a brilliant campaign of Fabian maneuver and predatory cunning. His final defeat of the British at Saratoga ensured the birth of the United States of America.

Wiki Commons

Which important person is this?

Oliver Cromwell

René Descartes

Charles Darwin

King Charles I

The "Lord Protector" of Britain, Oliver Cromwell, was a member of the lesser nobility who led Parliamentary forces to victory over Charles I's loyalists in the English Civil War. He ordered the execution of the king, forever changing European feudalism.

Wiki Commons

Do you recognize this historic individual?

Michelangelo

Ulysses S. Grant

Albert Einstein

Napoleon Bonaparte

Born in peripheral Corsica, Napoleon Bonaparte won fame by crushing the Paris mob with a "whiff of grapeshot," and through brilliance and cunning, rose to the self-created position of Emperor of France. He unleashed the revolutionary - now Imperial - armies upon Europe, and for a time, held the continent in thrall.

CloudBiography via Youtube

Which famous man do you see here?

Henry VIII

Thomas Edison

Nicolaus Copernicus

Vladimir Lenin

When the Central Powers dispatched Vladimir Lenin to Russia to destabilize the regime, they could not have imagined how wildly successful - and how dangerous - Lenin would be. He would lead his Bolsheviks to total victory in the Russian Revolution, and install the world's first Socialist Totalitarian state.

Wiki Commons via DOD photo by D. Myles Cullen

Do you know this famous man from history?

Aristotle

Michael Jordan

Sigmund Freud

Julius Caesar

Arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to no less than six championships. He is best known for his astonishing leaping ability, having proven himself capable of dunking a basketball from the free throw line.

KXM via YouTube

Which famed historical figure is this?

Karl Marx

John Adams

Martin Luther

Oliver Cromwell

The co-author of the Communist Manifesto, few individuals have changed the world more than Karl Marx. His authorship provided a blueprint and foundation for the communist movements that would blaze across the entire world in the 20th century, the first, of course, being the creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

WikiCommons

Do you recognize this man?

Immanuel Kant

Ieyasu Tokugawa

William Shakespeare

John Calvin

The Japanese Sengoku (warring states) period saw the country torn into many feudal states, ruled by competing Daimyo. This period ended with a succession of three unifiers, but in the end, it was Tokugawa who reigned supreme. He would put into place the system that would rule a unified, stable Japan for centuries.

WikiCommons

Which historical figure is pictured here?

Philip II of Spain

Joseph Smith, Jr.

Emperor Qin

Nobunaga Oda

Qin Shi Huang was the first Emperor of a truly united China. He brought the disparate states of the Chinese world together through cunning, ruthlessness, and brute force, and created the title of Emperor. His victories extinguished the previously independent states of Haan, Zhao, Yan, Wei, and Chu.

Top Historical Events via youtube

Can you identify this historical individual?

Thomas Aquinas

Gautama Buddha

Chiang Kai-Shek

Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong wielded together a group of disparate intellectuals and also-rans into a mighty army. He worked with the peasantry to fight the Japanese, smashed Chiang Kai-Shek back to Taiwan, and seized total control of mainland China. His economic policies resulted in staggering famine and poverty.

Wiki commons

Who is in this picture?

Kublai Khan

Augustine of Hippo

Subotai

Hirohito Akihito

Kublai Khan was the founder of the Yuan dynasty and grandson of Genghis Khan. He conquered the parts of China that the mongols had hirtherto left, and was the first foreigner to create a ruling dynasty in China.

Wiki Commons by Peter d'Aprix

Which historical man is shown here?

Emperor Augustus

Spartacus

Attila the Hun

Hamilcar Barca

Master of an alliance of Eurasian tribes, Atilla the Hun created an empire spanning parts of Europe and Asia. Although he sacked neither Constantinople nor Rome, he was the bane of both Roman Empires, causing them irreparable damage with his incessant raids.

WikiCommons

Which heroic individual is pictured?

Otto van Bismarck

Robert E. Lee

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Carl Linnaeus

Known as the "Iron Chancellor," Bismarck's masterful diplomacy saw a united German state (based around his native Prussia) for the first time in history. He was able to weld the Germans into an alliance against their common foe, France, and from there created what was to be known as the second Reich.

Wiki commons

Can you identify this person?

John Calvin

James Cook

Haile Selassie

Woodrow Wilson

The last Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, was an autocratic leader who exercised great control over his country. Eventually overthrown due to a famine ravaging his country, his greatest legacy may be the conviction of the Rastafarian religion that he was the messiah returned.

Wiki Commons

Show your knowledge of history and identify this person!

Ronald Reagan

Sargon

Edgar Allan Poe

Nebuchadnezzar II

Nebuchadnezzar II established a kingdom rooted around his city of Babylon. He conquered the Israelites and featured in the book of Daniel, where he had many exchanges with the titular prophet.

Louis Choris, via Wikimedia Commons

Which historical individual is this?

Kamehameha

Harry S. Truman

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Friedrich Nietzsche

At the end of the 19th century, King Kamehameha I conquered the island of Hawaii and then proceeded to invade neighboring Maui and Oahu with 960 war canoes and 10,000 soldiers. His ensuing victory brought the islands together under a single ruler.

I, Sailko, from Wikimedia Commons

Who is pictured here?

Suleiman I

King Abdul Aziz al Saud

Saladin

Mohammed Mossadegh

An-Nasir Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, known as Saladin in the West, ruled Syria and Egypt. He battled with Richard III and the various Crusader states, and eventually regained Muslim control of the region from the Christian invaders.

Wiki Commons

Who is shown here in this picture?

Theodore Roosevelt

James Buchanan

Franklin D. Roosevelt

John Tyler

The only four-term President of the United States, FDR oversaw an America wracked by a great depression and plunged into a global conflagration. He remilitarized a nation that had all but abandoned her armed forces, then waged a two-front​ war against the Axis powers, playing a critical role in their defeat.

Wiki Commons

Identify this historical personage!

Henry of Navarre

Louis XIV

Francis I

Napoleon III

Known to the world as the Sun King, Louis XIV was the very model of an absolute monarch. He had total control over France, and his wishes were paramount over any laws. He was known for his famous phrase, "l'etat, c'est moi," "I am the State!"

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